Reckless Homicide relates to the reckless operation of any type of motor vehicle. No matter what the action, or inaction, the result is the death of the victim. It doesn't matter whether the act was planned with malice or not. For this reason, negligent homicide is considered a lesser offense than murder.

The key factor in defending a client who has been charged with negligent homicide is to properly reconstruct the accident with the intention of proving that the accident was the other person's fault. It is also important to show that the defendant was not acting in a negligent or reckless manner.

Reckless Homicide Charges in Lake County, IL

Recklessness means that the defendant was aware of and consciously disregarded the risk that a dangerous circumstance existed. The risk must constitute a gross deviation from the actions a reasonable person would take under the given circumstances. Methods of defending a reckless homicide charge include:

Showing that the Miranda Rights of the accused were not properly administered.

Showing whether any admission of guilt was voluntary or coerced

Showing denial of right to counsel

Showing that the causal chain linking negligence to death is flawed

Showing that the reconstruction of the scene of an accident was incorrect

Showing that the defendant acted in a reasonable fashion based on their knowledge at the time

In a vehicle-related negligent homicide, the defense may use the testimony of an engineer who can prove that the vehicle the defendant was driving was defective in some way. If speed was a factor in the accident, then it must be shown that the speed at which the defendant was traveling was not a "gross deviation from the norm." Contact a Lake County IL Reckless Homicide Attorney today.

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